Garden District
Garden District
4.5
About
Once favored by America's elite, this iconic neighborhood is home to grand historic mansions, quirky indie boutiques, and beautifully cultivated gardens.
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The area
Neighbourhood: Central City
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Restaurants
1,462 within 5 kms
Attractions
620 within 10 kms
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- Mrs. RomenceGrand Rapids, Michigan152 contributionsDon't Miss This Important Part of New Orleans!The Garden District is exactly what I imagined New Orleans would look like! The homes were so beautiful! And the trolleys running up and down the street gave it that perfect New Orleans feeling. I am very glad that we were able to walk up and down this beautiful section of the city. It is a long walk from the French Quarter or Jackson Square, so I recommend that you take the trolley to visit this part and then you can stroll through the beautiful neighborhood. Side note: the trolley does not give change! You pay $1.25 per person or purchase a city pass to ride them. It does not take long to walk around this area ( less than 30 minutes) but I highly recommend that you make the trip. As others have mentioned, even though this area is nicer, I do not recommend walking the streets at night.Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 11 November 2023
- GPaCalgaryCalgary, Canada2,322 contributionsA Very Nice TourSix of us took a self-guided tour of this neighborhood and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. The descriptions on the tour package that was provided to us at our B and B was excellently written. We learned a lot about the history of the area and really enjoyed visiting these gorgeous homes.Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 23 November 2023
- kfsvc78Springfield, Illinois128 contributionsWhat an experienceNOLA’s visit is not complete til you visit this neighborhood. Lots of beautiful mansion and beautiful average size homes. We took the street car to get here as a family of 6 $3 per person for a day pass. Do not miss.Visited December 2023Travelled with familyWritten 4 January 2024
- DutchLaceHolland, Michigan1,174 contributionsBeautiful NeighborhoodWe meander through the area before breakfast. We figured we wouldn't remember who lived in the house originally, so we didn't take formal tour. Architecture and landscaping was beautiful. Be careful walking some of the sidewalks the tree roots are making some uneven. One home we walked by had a dog bowl and a drinking fountain outside their gate. Walked past cemetery on Washington St. It was temporary closed.Visited January 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 16 January 2024
- PossumCathAuckland, New Zealand32 contributionsA Belle Epoque Built on SlaveryBuilt on the back of slavery the Garden District is fading or restored opulence, recaptured in a 21st century setting. The houses are huge and beautiful, grand dames of their era, a belle epoque. But the wealth they came from is not beautiful. You go: you decide.Visited January 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 3 March 2024
- chattygirl749111,526 contributionsI would love to have booked a tourlove strolling around these beautiful homes and mansions. gorgeous landscaping. ironwork lots of history. A tour would have been interesting, but you have to plan ahead and we didn't know what our schedule or the weather would be. We just parked and walked around for a little .. nice to get out of the noise and pot of Nola for a bit.Visited March 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 16 March 2024
- mom.of.fourScarborough, Canada79 contributionsGorgeous homes!We went to NOLA for a few days during the kids’ winter break. This is one of the things I wanted to do and was not disappointed at all. Me and my daughter enjoyed looking at all the houses and love reading the informations. Got my steps in and had fun doing it. I am impressed how the owners (new and previous) looked after their home. The architecture is amazing!Visited December 2023Travelled with familyWritten 1 April 2024
- newmexjagsOrmond Beach, Florida406 contributionsBeautiful Mansions and gardensWe went on a Saturday afternoon, I was surprised there wasn't more sightseers..I found an online guide, and we drove to a number of the houses. A walking tour would be the best, but I'm not very mobile. Many very beautiful Civil War era mansions, some being restored.. Definitely recommend if you are in to history.Visited April 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 7 April 2024
- Timberly F6 contributionsHighly recommendKaren was an excellent tour guide of the Garden District! She has a wealth of knowledge of the history of the area and the houses. She was funny and entertaining and made the 90 minute tour fly by! Highly recommend!Visited April 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 15 April 2024
- Ginger B ROswego, New York534 contributionsCome visit!Highly recommend coming down here. You can take the old streetcar from French Quarter. It's quiet here, and the old neighborhoods with the grand houses are something to look it. We ran across some people who downloaded a tour onto their phones, and were telling us who owned each house, and which were in movies. We found John Goodman's house this way lol! It's free and a different part of Nola that is worth checking out.Visited February 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 15 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
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8,965 reviews
Excellent
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465
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58
Terrible
16
wendy L
Evanston, IL481 contributions
Dec 2019
Do it alone, or with a tour guide, but get out to the Garden District and discover the beauty of this area on foot. This was our second trip to NO, and during this one we drove through the area on a bus tour. The first time we walked with a guide book. Both times we saw beautiful homes and learned a lot about history and architecture, but to really see the area you should do it on foot and take the time to absorb what you are seeing. A bus tour is great for an overview, but you do not have the time to fully appreciate these marvelous homes when you are literally flying by them. A full day might include a streetcar ride to the Garden District, a couple of hours walk about and then a trip to either the Tulane or Loyola Campus or the Audubon Zoo, all of which are in this general area.
Written 4 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BarrieRes
Wasaga Beach, Canada96 contributions
Mar 2020
Took a guided tour of Garden district through Hop on hop off Bus tour. Although we were in New Orleans only for the one day we purchased the 3 day pass to get 2 guided tours for free. ( each were $25.00 if purchased on own) Tour guide was very pleasant and kept us entertained as well as informed about houses and some businesses in the area. Plan on walking on very uneven sidewalks as they are old and trees have pushed up slabs. Well worth the time to see this historic district up close.
Written 5 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
O G
United States2 contributions
Aug 2021
If you’re in New Orleans and want to get away from French Quarter I highly recommend a guided walking tour through the Garden District. Beautiful homes with amazing history. Our guide D.J Hayes was the best part of the whole experience. He was able to provide insightful information about many different stops and he made the whole experience a great one.
Written 19 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gary W
Pennsylvania16 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Step into a snapshot of time as you en walk the streets of the Garden District. Captivating architecture done Southern style with French and Spanish influences intrigue the eye. Each corner estate is large and evokes the horticultural essence supporting the area’s name. Make the most of your experience and learn the history through the eyes of a local guide. Timothy of Walking Tours narrates the city’s interesting and varied journey justifying the allure it commands today. The Garden District is one of many neighborhoods comprising NOLA’s Creole culture.
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mrs. Romence
Grand Rapids, MI152 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
The Garden District is exactly what I imagined New Orleans would look like! The homes were so beautiful! And the trolleys running up and down the street gave it that perfect New Orleans feeling. I am very glad that we were able to walk up and down this beautiful section of the city. It is a long walk from the French Quarter or Jackson Square, so I recommend that you take the trolley to visit this part and then you can stroll through the beautiful neighborhood. Side note: the trolley does not give change! You pay $1.25 per person or purchase a city pass to ride them. It does not take long to walk around this area ( less than 30 minutes) but I highly recommend that you make the trip. As others have mentioned, even though this area is nicer, I do not recommend walking the streets at night.
Written 11 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neale1810
Kingston-upon-Hull, UK3,354 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
We had heard about this area from our tour guide in the French Quarter and decided to walk over to it from our hotel on the other side of the French Quarter. It was a lovely crisp morning so decided to walk - glad we did as we were able to see the large differences between the French Quarter, Financial district and then this Garden District. It took us 75 mins to walk over there but could have taken the streetcar for half of this.
I had previously downloaded a walking map of the area with a recommended route and this worked out very well. There are obviously some great looking houses and gardens throughout the district - all so unique. There were lots of tour groups walking round at the same time so you can do what we did as a self walk or join one of these and gain some insight into individual properties.
Well worth the visit.
I had previously downloaded a walking map of the area with a recommended route and this worked out very well. There are obviously some great looking houses and gardens throughout the district - all so unique. There were lots of tour groups walking round at the same time so you can do what we did as a self walk or join one of these and gain some insight into individual properties.
Well worth the visit.
Written 7 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathleen F
Kirkland, WA231 contributions
Apr 2019
We stayed in the Garden District and some days stuck around to see gardens, architecture, cemetery, cafe's, sandwich shops, and this place with bbqued oysters. Yum!. Also, has mini marts with crawfish turnovers--so good! Commander's Palace. Street cars, Beautiful old mansion. Lovely!
Written 28 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah M
Darien, IL140 contributions
Mar 2020 • Couples
We spent a good 6 hours in this part of town. We didn’t want to spend money on a walking tour. Instead I downloaded the free Atlantis Audio Tours’ app and bought a pre-recorded walking tour for a whopping $1.99. You can listen to it or you can read it - whatever you choose. (There are 6 total tours for NOLA plus tours for other cities.) (Lafayette Cemetery was closed for repair, sadly.) This was a great option for us as it allowed us to go at our own pace (and save a bundle of money) and it was very informative. I think it was spot on because we walked past several guided tours and the guides were saying much the same thing that the pre-recorded tour told us. It took about 90 minutes.
We ate at Red Dog Diner and Rum House (I had the yummiest vegetarian tacos I’ve ever had). Did lots of shopping to. Check out Zele, which sells merchandise by tons of local artisans.
We ate at Red Dog Diner and Rum House (I had the yummiest vegetarian tacos I’ve ever had). Did lots of shopping to. Check out Zele, which sells merchandise by tons of local artisans.
Written 13 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sunny s
Venice, FL87 contributions
May 2021
Denise, from the Hop on Hop Off Tours gave a terrific tour of the garden district. In her brief 45 minute tour she displayed her knowledge minced with humor about this lovely area of New Orleans. Such a delight to see the city has preserved some of its historic treasures.
Written 18 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tanya T.
Illinois1,658 contributions
Aug 2019
We visited the Garden District on a Sunday. For some reason, the trolleys were not running the normal schedule. Instead, we had to take a bus. Fortunately, there were city transportation workers there to give direction. It was a nice, sunny day so taking a stroll through the district was quite nice. We also stumbled onto an old cemetery. It was a challenge to find a place of retreat from walking, but there was a guy who sold $1 bottles of water at the cemetery entrance. Beautiful, stately homes stand side-by-side with perfectly manicured lawns. One can dream.
Written 20 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How do I get there from the French quarter
Written 8 March 2020
Take the street car. Your hotel will give you the info.
Written 10 March 2020
What does it cost to stay in hotels in the Central City?
Written 31 January 2020
We stayed at an Airbnb. Really nice place near the French Quarter.
Written 23 February 2020
What hotel you recommend in he GARDEN district?
Written 12 May 2019
I stayed at the Avenue Plaza(time share trade), I also recommend the Pontchartrain hotel and Hotel Indigo(a kimpton property) I prefer staying in the Garden district. easy peasy street car will take you to French Quarter
Written 14 May 2019
What hotel you recommend in he GARDEN district?
Written 12 May 2019
We stayed at the Indigo in the Garden district. Streetcar stops in both directions directly across from hotel. Quiet and nice.
Written 22 May 2019
Hello Marha! Where did you find that map to print for the garden district tour?
Thanks!
Written 24 February 2019
We got a map at the Hilton Riverside where we stayed. BUT, I'm pretty sure the map was provided by the Red Bus Tour company. We did do the Red Bus Tour & I highly recommend. What we did was got on the bus, went for the entire loop of the tour to see where it went & see where we might want to get off & explore. Then on the 2nd time around, we got off & had lunch in the Garden District. So start the Red Bus Tour in the morning because you can get on & off throughout the day. It's well worth the cost of the tour. Beware, however, because, toward the end of the day, they will tell you, the bus might not be back if it's too late in the day. We used Uber extensively in New Orleans, so we always felt, whatever, can always get an Uber back. We actually took the streetcar back after we got off of the Red Bus tour.
Written 9 June 2019
Hi, michaelkilkeary. What would you like to know about this attraction?
Names and addresses of the most popular houses with a variety of archetecural styles
Written 22 January 2019
Commander’s Palace in the Garden District has free maps in their entry way. They give a walking route to take and have a brief summary of the important addresses. It was very good.
Written 22 January 2019
Can anyone recommend the best time to see the Garden District in spring bloom ?? End of March // Beginning of April ??
Written 9 July 2018
We went at the end of April & it was really pleasant. Not too hot, just pleasant.
Written 9 June 2019
Is it possible (and worth while) to bring bicycles and tour the garden district areas?
Written 19 June 2018
We walked, a lot! Bikes would have been ok but I stopped to take many pictures.
Written 24 July 2018
I'm trying to decide which tour to take of the Garden District. I'll be in New Orleans for a long weekend in April. There's plenty to keep me and my 23 year old busy but I'd like her to see this area and take a break from the French Quarter for a couple of hours. Can anyone recommend one tour over another? For example, the self- guided walking tour or the bus tour or a guided walking tour? In addition to the architecture, and homes of celebrities, I'd like to see the cemetery too. Also I'd like to have a meal at one of the great restaurants there. I hear Commander's Palace is great. Any suggestions for the tour and where to have a meal, would be great. Thanks
Written 15 January 2018
We combined the online Garden District tour and the online tour of the cemetery that is across from Commander's Palace. It's not the greatest cemetery, but was still interesting. We also had dinner at Commander's Palace on a different night; you need reservations, well in advance (I believe) and nicer than the usual tourist clothing.
Written 17 January 2018
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